(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to electrostatic-image developing toners, electrostatic image developers, and toner cartridges.
(ii) Related Art
Techniques for forming visible images based on image information via electrostatic images, such as electrophotography, are currently used in various fields. In electrophotography, an electrostatic image (electrostatic latent image) is formed on a photoreceptor (image carrier) by charging and exposure steps and is then developed with a developer containing a toner, followed by transfer and fixing steps to form a visible image. Developers for use in electrophotography include two-component developers, which are composed of a toner and a carrier, and one-component developers, which are composed only of a magnetic or nonmagnetic toner. A typical toner manufacturing process is pulverization, in which a thermoplastic resin is melt-mixed with a pigment, a charge control agent, and a release agent such as wax and is then cooled, pulverized, and classified. To improve the chargeability of the toner, inorganic or organic particles are optionally added to the surfaces of the toner particles.